Screening for health care facility staff, firefighters, health care providers, law enforcement, funeral directors, embalmers, medical and dental students who may have been exposed to HIV through blood or body fluids (known as "substantial exposure screening")

Preventing HIV infection

Today, HIV is more preventable than ever. Prevention techniques include limiting the number of sexual partners, using clean needles and syringes, and using condoms correctly and consistently. You should also know your health status, as having gonorrhea or syphilis makes you more susceptible to HIV as well as more likely to pass on the disease.

How HIV is spread

The most common ways that HIV is transmitted from one person to another are:

Sex without a condom or other barrier (anal, vaginal, or oral) with an HIV-infected person

Sharing needles or injection equipment with an injection drug user who is infected with HIV

From HIV-infected women to their babies before or during birth, or through breastfeeding after birth.

A blood transfusion or clotting factor (this risk is extremely low because of careful testing in the U.S. of blood and donated organs)

How HIV is not spread

HIV cannot live for very long outside the body and it is easily killed by soap and common disinfectants such as bleach. Many misconceptions exist about how HIV is transmitted. You cannot get HIV from the following:

Shaking hands

Hugging or casual kissing

Toilet seats or doorknobs

Food or drinking fountains

Dishes and drinking glasses

Mosquitoes

Donating blood

Sex partner notification and HIV/AIDS reporting

The Snohomish Health District is responsible for verifying the diagnosis and treatment of all reportable STDs, including HIV, from public and private care providers. Health care providers in Washington are required to report HIV infection, AIDS, and other STDs to local health authorities within 3 working days (in accordance with WAC 246-101). See our Disease Reporting page.

Washington State law requires that local health officers and health care providers provide partner notification assistance to persons with HIV infection (WAC 246-100-209) and establishes rules for providing such assistance (WAC 246-100-072).

For assistance in notifying spouses, sex partners, or needle-sharing partners of persons with HIV/AIDS, please contact us at 425.339.5298.